Social behavior of the pygmy chimpanzees

Abstract

The affinitive interactions among the pygmy chimps seem to be the most frequent in the male/female combination, next in the female/female, and the least frequent in the male/male. The differences of frequencies among the combinations, however, are little, and it may be said that the pygmy chimps are not so much biased by sex in the affinitive relations. Their aggressive behavior is mild, and their behavior in general shows high tolerance, especially between different sexes and among females. Similar tendency is also seen in grouping (Kuroda, 1979). Therefore, the pygmy chimp’s society may be said to be integrated by the male/female affinity, little differentiated by sex in the grouping and the affinitive relations, and with high inter-individual tolerance and coherence.

Keywords

Aggressive Behavior Social Behavior Animal Ecology High Tolerance Similar Tendency

This study was financed by the Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture of the Japanese Government. This study was carried out as part of academic cooperation between l’Institut de Recherche Scientifique (I.R.S.) du Zaïre and Kyoto University.